


Not the Right Kind of Surprise

by Eggsyobsessed



Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Birthday Parties, Harry tries to throw Merlin a birthday party, M/M, Mercival - Freeform, Not Canon Compliant, Percival knows all, Surprises, The suprise is on Harry, You don't surprise Merlin he surprises you, background Hartwin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2020-02-28 14:40:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18758485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eggsyobsessed/pseuds/Eggsyobsessed
Summary: It is Merlin's 50th Birthday, and Harry wants to give him a surprise Birthday party.Harry thinks he has it all figured out, and Merlin won't suspect a thing. Except, Harry rarely gets what he wants. And why does Percival have so much to say on what their quartermaster likes? He has been friends with him for decades, after all.





	Not the Right Kind of Surprise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [anarchycox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anarchycox/gifts).



> This had gone a little longer and differently than I first had anticipated. I had wanted to get this out a few days ago, but life.  
> Gifting this to my dear friend, because she needed a little happy, and I hope this delivers.

The room quickly filled with all of the agent’s stationed in London, while the rest attended via their glasses. Harry sat at the head of the table, looking every bit as much like the man who led their organization. He leveled a gaze on each of the men, and woman, that sat at the Round Table. Once he was sure everyone was in attendance, he straightened himself out and began.

“Thank you all for coming,” he addressed them all. “I’m sure most of you are not aware, but it is one of our most treasured members of Kingsman’s birthday.”

There were collective looks of confusion shared amongst his agents, and Harry had figured as much.

Percival quirked a brow in interest, as Harry continued his agenda for the meeting.

“It is Merlin’s birthday in a months time, and I had the hopes we could throw him a surprise birthday party.” Most of the table nodded in agreement, but two agents only rolled their eyes at the suggestion. Harry ignored them.

Eggsy was the first to speak. “But,” he looked around confused, “how are we going to surprise the one person who is the eyes and ears of the whole thing? Kinda hard to pull one over on him, bruv,” he snickered, and mumbled a soft ‘ow’ as Harry’s foot met his shin.

“Do not call me bruv,” Harry snapped and continued, “it will be tricky, yes, but I think between all of us we can come up with something.” he felt confident, after all, it wasn’t every day you turned 50.

The room quickly buzzed with the suggestions from each individual, all but one had said anything, and Harry had wondered why Percival hadn’t offered any input. Harry kept a list of each idea, and made sure to use a pen and paper as opposed to his tablet. He had learned before that if he wanted to keep something from Merlin, he’d need to make sure it wasn’t electronically entered or saved.

“Do you have anything to add, Percival?” Harry addressed one of his most seasoned agents.

His pristine posture did not falter, even with all of the eyes present in the room on him. Instead, Percival swept his gaze around the table and back to Harry.

“If I may,” he began and noted how the whole room shifted in unison. “I do not think a surprise party is needed,” Percival said honestly.

It felt like the temperature had dropped 10 degrees.

Eggsy stirred uncomfortably in his seat, Harry and Percival seemed to be having a silent conversation, or argument rather. On one hand, Percival’s expression never changed, while Harry’s face had gone an impressive shade of red.

“Harry,” Eggsy said quietly, hand extended out to comfort him. But Harry pulled his away and focused all of his attention on Percival.

“And why is that?” Harry asked calmly. He had a mind to accuse Percival of not caring for their quartermaster, and oldest friend and working colleague.

“I do not feel he would enjoy it,” Percival admitted and heard the collective scoffs from his co-workers. His shoulders stayed squared, eyes never left Harry.

“Oh?” Harry said on a laugh. “How would you know that, agent?”

Percival only shook his head and chuckled. “You are right, Arthur, I wouldn’t,” he lied, and leaned back in his chair.

Harry exhaled and shifted the conversation back to the planning of Merlin’s birthday party.

The meeting concluded, and Percival left without another word. He could hear Harry and Eggsy murmuring softly to one another as he exited, Eggsy was right, it would be hard to pull one over on Merlin.

\---

“He’d like this best,” Percival said lightly, pointing to the moderate gold napkin.

Harry paused, as he held up an emerald green cloth napkin for examination and squinted to see what Percival had suggested. It was almost a golden mustard, but not quite.

“That looks like a sandwich condiment,” Harry said without thinking. “He likes green,” he decided firmly and ignored the eye roll Percival gave him. He huffed out after a moment when Percival slid the mustard colored napkin forward.

“I think you should reconsider, sir,” Percival pressed. “You won’t be disappointed,” he assured. He had decided to give them a hand, he knew if left to their own devices Harry and the rest would concoct something so outside of Merlin’s tastes it would be almost shameful to put the effort into.

Harry pursed his lips, eyes darting between the two colors and relented. “Fine, but I’ll have you know, we have been good friends for decades,” he said primly as he swapped out the fabric swatches, “if he doesn’t like it, it’s all on you.”

“Don’t like what now?” Merlin asked, coming into the dining room. He had the pleasure of watching Harry and Eggsy scatter around like two children caught stealing biscuits. “What on earth are ye two doing?” he asked bemused.

“Nothing,” Eggsy said quickly, carrying a plastic bag behind his body and shuffling out.

“Percival,” Merlin nodded towards the agent in greeting, and added, “I need a moment with Arthur, if ye may?”

Percival gave a polite nod to Arthur and then Merlin, as he made his exit.

“Harry,” Merlin said once they were alone. “This hide and seek wouldn’t have anything to do with my birthday, would it?” he asked skeptically, and added a head tilt for effect. It seemed to work.

“I have no idea what you are speaking of, Daniel,” he answered, but averted his gaze from Merlin, because if he looked too long he’d spill the beans. He always did, and Harry half wondered why Merlin ever left the interrogation department.

“Mm,” Merlin hummed unconvincingly, and took a seat beside Harry to go over the new mission specs for Kay. He ignored the paper invitation hid, not so discreetly, under Harry’s tablet.

\---

“I’m telling you, this is a bad idea,” Eggsy chimed in, as he stood on a ladder hanging a display in the ballroom for the party. “He’s going to know!” he hissed in Harry’s direction.

Harry waved a hand dismissively in the air. “You worry too much, Eggsy,” he responded, and straightened the ladder when Eggsy nearly toppled over from giving him the two-finger salute. “You’ll pay for that later,” he warned, and the blush that crept up Eggsy’s neck signaled he wouldn’t mind.

“I’m not saying Eggsy doesn’t worry, but, sir, he is right,” Roxy added, her arms full of gold and black decorations, as she entered the hall. “He is Merlin, after all.”

“I can be sneaky,” he grumbled, as he set one of the tables. “You watch, he will be completely shocked,” Harry said firmly, and didn’t pay any attention to the shared looks of disbelief and soft snorts, he was sure they thought he couldn’t hear.

\---

It was hard, but slowly things began to come together, and Harry hated how many security cameras they had. He was certain he had disabled them all, and had asked for the new Tristan’s help. He’d be sure to keep the boy away from Merlin. If he had the slightest clue he was good with electronics and computers alike, he’d snatch him away from Harry. Just as he had with their former Gawain, Harry had just recently filled that seat.

He had to admit, dressing all in black and slinking around the manner late at night was probably not the best idea. But Harry needed to get the finishing touches completed before the party tomorrow. He had planned it perfectly on Merlin’s birthday, and he hoped Eggsy and Roxy could lear him into the ballroom when needed.

Harry had purposely ensured no missions, that could be prevented, took place and that Merlin was off from guiding any necessary assignments. It was going well, almost too well, and Harry considered that Merlin may be on to him. Well, he was, but he had been sure to keep everything well hid and out of Merlin’s reach.

Everything had been set up and ready to go, Harry had even changed the code on the door so that Merlin couldn't get in.

“That centerpiece is off-centered, you know,” a calm voice said behind Harry, causing him to jump out of his skin and send his heart racing.

“Christ,” Harry breathed heavily, hand over his heart as the other gripped the edge of the table. “Do you make any noise?” he asked, leveling a gaze on Percival. The man gave him a small smile and stepped out from the shadows.

“Now, that would be silly, considering I am the sniper.” there was humor in his tone, and Harry could have sworn he caught a faint smile, one that seemed friendly. “Need help?” he asked, when Harry didn’t say anything.

Harry pursed his lips in his consideration, and wordlessly handed Percival a box containing tablecloths and centerpieces.

They worked silently, which wasn’t at all hard considering Percival made next to no noise the entire time. Harry was pleased with how things looked, and hoped he could pull this off, he was sure Merlin didn’t suspect a thing. At least, Harry was convincing himself that, or trying to.

When they were done, Harry locked the doors behind them and headed down the corridor.

“I made some minor adjustments to the menu,” Percival said on their way to the bullet train.

“You did what?” Harry stopped dead in his tracks, forcing Percival to do the same and face him. “Really?” he asked incredulously.

Percival hummed in confirmation. “You are not the only one who knows our quartermaster you know.” and by the snort Harry gave him, Percival was certain he, in fact, believed that. “See you tomorrow,” he called over his shoulder, leaving Harry to stand gaping at him.

\---

Percival arrived home just after midnight, it was dark and quiet. He could hear the faint sounds of soft padding down the hall, and was greeted with his orange tabby. He bent down to give his sleek back a run over with his hand, and pulled at the length of his tail.

“Were you lounging with Daddy?” Percival asked lightly, and got a meow in response. It was tiny and so soft for a cat his size. “I supposed you were,” he answered.

He freed his feet from his oxfords, placed them in their proper spot in the hall closet and began to strip out of his suit as he made his way to his room. There was a light on that cast along the wall from the cracked door, he could hear the familiar clicking of fingers hitting a keyboard. He smiled to himself, knowing what his boyfriend must be working on.

Percival produced an envelope from his pocket, as he entered the room. He stood in the doorway for a moment, and just watched. His brows pulled together and down, and they always did when he worked on anything. Percival had a mind to go over and slide the glasses back into place, because he always got so distracted by his work, he never did it himself.

“Happy Birthday,” he said softly, as to get his partner’s attention.

The smile he received was faint, but there. One of the few reserved just for Percival, and he adored it. He came all the way in and swooped in to give Merlin a soft kiss. When they broke apart, Percival handed him the envelope and went to the adjoined bathroom to clean up.

“I really dislike this hardware,” Merlin grumbled, as he fiddled with the Dell laptop in bed. “Ye need a better one, Michael.” he grinned when there was a chaste kiss placed to his cheek.

“You know once I find something I like, I don’t let it go,” Percival said, as he got comfortable under the sheets.

Merlin didn’t miss the underlying meaning in his partner’s words, and it was one of the many reasons he loved him.

“Thank ye,” he added, speaking of the gift he had gotten. “I will be sure to ask Kay to go with me.”

“I figured that’s who you’d ask to go to the Arsenal game,” Perical responded and got situated with a book. He outstretched one of his legs to hook over Merlin’s. They fell into a familiar and comfortable silence.

Merlin typed away furiously on the machine, he loved computers, but he truly hated the one his partner insisted on keeping. Merlin had finally got it to update and connect to their home wifi.

He decided to test the waters and logged onto his email, and was pleased when everything seemed to run smoothly. No more lag and the laptop was working on the battery efficiency level. That way when Percival wanted to spend hours watching cheesy romance comedies on his flights home, he could do so without general lag.

He was just about to show Percival his work when an odd email caught his attention. It was forwarded from Harry, and when he opened it, Merlin was faced with an online dating advertisement for people 50+.

Silversingles promised people over 50 the chance at love, that no one was too old for dating. There was a lovely note from Harry, which wished him a happy birthday and welcomed him to the 50 and over club.

“Oh for Christ's sake,” he grumbled and quickly spammed the email.

“What is it?” Percival took his attention away from his book.

Merlin closed the laptop and set it on the nightstand, placing his glasses on top of that. He sidled up to Percival’s side, and shoved himself under his arm so that it was draped around his shoulder.

“Nothing,” he assured and pressed a delicate kiss to Percival’s exposed chest. “Just Harry being a ponce that I am now 50.”

Percival snorted in response. “He is older, you know,” he reminded Merlin. “You’d think he’d be less obnoxious with throwing that in your face.”

“Aye, ye’d think,” Merlin replied. “But he has Eggsy, ye know, lad keeps him young.” there was nothing sorrowful or regretful in what he said. His partner hummed beside him, as Percival marked his book and lowered to coddle Merlin close.

“Sure,” Percival agreed and pecked his nose. “But I like to think what we do,” he purred, his fingertips trailed along Merlin’s exposed thigh, enticing a shiver to reverberate through him, “keeps you young enough,” he whispered over Merlin’s mouth, before he trapped his lips with his own in a searing kiss.

Merlin moaned into the contact, which gave Percival access to slip his tongue through warm, velvety lips to deepen the kiss. He rolled himself so that he was now flush against Merlin’s chest, Percival growled low in the back of his throat when Merlin tangled his fingers in his hair and tugged lightly at the ends.

When they separated, Merlin smoothed his palms over Percival’s forehead and up through his hair.

“Aye, it does,” he agreed quietly.

\---

“I kinda need you for something,” Eggsy said just a foot away from Merlin. “Super important.” he hated they had asked him to do this, he couldn’t lie to save his ass. And that wasn’t saying a lot for being a spy, but Eggsy was shit when it came to Merlin. He tended to get this ‘don’t fuck with me Galahad’ voice and demeanor.

“What tech have ye broken now, lad?” Merlin asked, and only mildly irritated.

Eggsy shifted a little, and apparently, his silence was the best response, because that’s when Merlin spun in his chair to face him.

Merlin huffed out and stood. “Alright then, let's see what ye did.” he sighed and followed Eggsy, who led him through HQ.

He had to admit, Merlin had figured Eggsy would have bound into his office to wish him a happy birthday, and he found it odd that no one had. Harry, being the shit he was, had sent him the email after midnight, but nothing else.

“It’s just in here, I really fucked up guv,” Eggsy admitted and opened the doors allowing Merlin to go in first. He had half expected Merlin to fall over when everyone popped up and shouted ‘surprise’ in unison, followed by a happy birthday.

Merlin didn’t really react, he had the blankest look on his face and Eggsy had begun to worry he was having a stroke.

“Bastard,” Harry declared, as he walked forward. “How long?” everyone else seemed confused, but Percival was the only one in the corner of the room who seemed to have a clue as to what was happening.

“How long did you know?” Harry pressed, jabbing a finger into Merlin’s chest.

Eggsy came up beside Harry and whispered, “babe, I don’t think he knew shit.”

“Oh, I did,” Merlin said slowly.

“See!” Harry accused, his voice sprung up a few octaves.

There were murmurs behind Harry, some sighing in defeat and others considering their winnings. Apparently, their money was on Merlin figuring it out, and only a couple seemed to bet that Harry would actually pull it off.

Everyone ignored Harry, who still stubbornly stood in front of Merlin, and wished Merlin a happy birthday before going off to mingle with the other agent’s.

“Don’t be so upset, Harry,” Merlin tisked. “It is unbecoming of a gentleman,” he said, as Harry continued to scowl. “Come now.” he put an arm around Harry’s shoulder and led him to the bar where he ordered a martini and a scotch for himself.

“Every year,” Harry complained, and finished the martini in one swallow.

Merlin gave him an affectionate pat on the hand. “Maybe someday,” he tried to reassure him.

“That will be the day we are too old to remember, and then I’m sure I’ll forget,” Harry groused. “Oh well, happy birthday.” he lifted his second drink to Merlin and their glasses clinked together.

Percival sidled up beside Merlin, and easily tucked himself against his side. “You did do a good job, Harry.”

The man seemed properly befuddled, and his brain to mouth filter had broken when the two kissed. Eggsy was the one to snort his drink up his nose, and was in a coughing fit. Roxy, thankfully, was beside him to pat his back as Harry seemed to be broken and couldn’t come to his aide.

Merlin tilted his head curiously, like he so often did when assessing something, and waved a hand in Harry’s face. “Did we kill him?” Merlin wondered.

“I am your friend,” Harry said, “and your boss!” he added, almost screeching. “How?”

For a moment, Merlin had no idea what he was talking about, and then it dawned on him. He barked out a laugh, that caused Harry, Eggsy, and Roxy to jump. He laughed so hard tears streamed down his face, and his arm had tightened around Percival’s waist.

“Oh my god,” he said between gasps of breath. “Ye had no idea!” he couldn’t believe Harry hadn’t a clue.

“I had no idea,” Eggsy admitted, and no one seemed surprised he had been clueless to their relationship. He was so far up Harry’s ass, that they figured as much.

“I did,” Roxy said with a shrug. When Eggsy and Harry looked at her with identical looks of disbelief, she asked, “what? Not my fault you two are the most unobservant spies,” she sniffed and walked away.

“The surprise is on ye, Harry,” Merlin pointed out.

Harry straightened himself out and signaled for a third martini. “I suppose it is,” he admitted, and now it made perfect sense how Percival knew so much about Merlin.


End file.
